Lotusland: An Unforgettable Experience in Santa Barbara

I’d never heard of Lotusland, the botanical garden in Montecito, Calif., that slice of paradise in lovely, balmy Santa Barbara. On Lotusland’s 37 acres are 23 themed gardens. Not Star Wars–, Harry Potter–, or Barbie-themed but the rarest cacti and succulents, cycads with Jurassic bloodlines, towering prehistoric fern trees, dragon trees, bromeliads among Spanish moss, and so much more. Lotusland is both a beautiful, heavenly place and, as are all the best botanical gardens, a serious, academic one. It’s an unforgettable experience. For Easter weekend, what better topic than a place about renewal and regeneration. It’s a place where the spiritual, art, plants, and science unite in harmony.

Regular readers know my taste is catholic. I’m not blinkered and have an expansive view of what art is. Botanical gardens are rarefied art, but they’re art as an entirety, and, by the by, isn’t Mother Nature the best artist? I’ve written about cemetery landscape architecture and gardens attached to house museums such as Olana, and earlier this week I wrote about Matthew Wong’s mystical landscape paintings, but I’ve never written about a museum of plants. Why not start with one of the best?

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

I’d never heard of Lotusland, the botanical garden in Montecito, Calif., that slice of paradise in lovely, balmy Santa Barbara. On Lotusland’s 37 acres are 23 themed gardens. Not Star Wars–, Harry Potter–, or Barbie-themed but the rarest cacti and succulents, cycads with Jurassic bloodlines, towering prehistoric fern trees, dragon trees, bromeliads among Spanish moss, and so much more. Lotusland is both a beautiful, heavenly place and, as are all the best botanical gardens, a serious, academic one. It’s an unforgettable experience. For Easter weekend, what better topic than a place about renewal and regeneration. It’s a place where the spiritual, art, plants, and science unite in harmony.

Regular readers know my taste is catholic. I’m not blinkered and have an expansive view of what art is. Botanical gardens are rarefied art, but they’re art as an entirety, and, by the by, isn’t Mother Nature the best artist? I’ve written about cemetery landscape architecture and gardens attached to house museums such as Olana, and earlier this week I wrote about Matthew Wong’s mystical landscape paintings, but I’ve never written about a museum of plants. Why not start with one of the best?